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Observational Study
. 2023 Jun;123(3):857-863.
doi: 10.1007/s13760-022-01978-1. Epub 2022 May 29.

Serum uric acid and diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a double-edged sword

Yong Zhuang  1 , Huibin Huang  1 , Xin Hu  1 , Jinying Zhang  2 , Qingyan Cai  3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Serum uric acid and diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a double-edged sword

Yong Zhuang et al. Acta Neurol Belg. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Research suggests that diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is related to high serum uric acid (SUA) level, although its correlation with low SUA level has not been reported. Here, diabetic patients with hyperuricemia were excluded, and the correlation between low SUA level and DPN was explored.

Subjects and methods: This prospective observational clinical study enrolled 525 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients without hyperuricemia, who were divided into the diabetes with symptomatic neuropathy (150 cases), diabetes with asymptomatic neuropathy (125 cases) and diabetes with no neuropathy (250 cases) groups.

Results: The SUA slightly decreased in subjects with asymptomatic DPN compared with those with no neuropathy and greatly decreased in subjects with symptomatic DPN compared with those without (P < 0.001). The association of the SUA with diabetic neuropathy was independent of the hyperglycemic state and other potential confounders (odds ratio 0.985 [0.981-0.988], P < 0.001). The SUA was closely correlated with the means of motor/sensory nerve amplitude and CV (all P < 0.001). The optimal cut-off point for SUA to distinguish patients with diabetic neuropathy from those without was 324 umol/L, with a sensitivity of 76.0% and a specificity of 79.2% (AUC = 0.806).

Conclusions: The low SUA level is closely associated with DPN. Future studies are warranted to clarify the relationship.

Keywords: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy; Low serum uric acid; Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowcharts of the study. (In the trial, patient enrollment started in March 2018 and was completed in May 2021. Overall, 525 patients was further staged into three groups and analyzed.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
ROC curve of SUA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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